1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin processor and particularly relates to an improvement of the temporary storage portion thereof.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-040051, filed Feb. 21, 2008, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
A coin processor generally has a money receiving portion where coins are charged, an identifying portion that identifies coins that are charged in the money receiving portion, a temporary storage portion that temporarily stores coins that have been identified by the identifying portion, a returning portion that returns coins that have been temporarily stored in the temporary storage portion, and a housing portion that houses coins that have been temporarily stored in the temporary storage portion. In recent years, many coin processors have been adopted that use a conveyor belt that is capable of transporting coins in the temporary storage portion (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Publication No. 3248849 {Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. H10-97667}).
Coins that have been identified by the identifying portion are introduced to the temporary storage portion either directly from a selection hole or via a shoot. A state can arise in which coins pile up at the introduction portion of the temporary storage portion. When the conveyor belt is used in the temporary storage portion in the above manner, the coins are spread out on the conveyor belt by moving the conveyor belt, and this makes it possible to improve the storage efficiency. Also, coins that are stored in the temporary storage portion can be selectively conveyed to the storage portion and the returning portion by the conveyor belt. However, since the coins are accumulated on the conveyor belt in a disorderly manner, a state in which a coin spins freely in a standing state on the spot with respect to the rotating conveyor belt (the so-called repetition rotation phenomenon) and a state in which a coin becomes caught on the conveying exit (so-called bridging) and the like sometimes occur. As a result, coins become held up and are not properly conveyed.